1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an airborne body with an over-caliber sized guidance mechanism, especially a projectile with control surfaces, whose surfaces are retracted against a projectile tail structure prior to launching or firing of the projectile from a weapon barrel or tube, and are generally radially extended subsequent to exiting from the barrel. In this connection, there is especially contemplated a projectile which is fireable from a mortar tube or other kind of weapon barrel, and which possesses guidance control surfaces in order to enable influencing a flight trajectory (such as, for instance, final flight-phase guidance) wherein; however, the airborne body can relate to a projectile equipped with a rocket propulsion arrangement, and in which the guidance mechanism can pertain to aerodynamic stabilizer fins.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
An airborne body in conformance with the foregoing concept is presently known from the disclosure of German Laid Open Patent Application No. 26 23 582. In that instance, provided in the region of the muzzle of the launch tube or barrel is a shoulder which reduces the size of the muzzle, which is engaged from behind by a projection during the exit of the projectile, and which, with a retracted control surface, protrudes radially from the control surface relative to the longitudinal axis of the projectile. When the projectile exits from the muzzle of the weapon barrel, through contact against the projection pivots the control surface which then is still retracted in the launching direction against the projectile fuselage, outwardly in front of the muzzle of the launch tube or barrel. However, it is of particular disadvantage in this arrangement that, for firing of the projectile, there is required a special configuration for the muzzle of the barrel in the shape of an inwardly corbeling shoulder; in essence, there cannot be found any utility for standard barrels or launch tubes which are usual for other projectiles. In addition thereto, also disadvantageous is the intense sudden impact-like introduction of force from the shoulder to the projection on the control surface, when this has displaced itself at the high starting acceleration from the stationary position of the projectile up to the muzzle of the barrel; with the consequence of a considerable danger of damage to the support for the control surface on the projectile, as well as to the muzzle of the barrel.
Finally, this already known mechanism is functionally restricted to that the control surfaces must be retracted against the projectile structure in parallel therewith forwardly in the starting direction; which represents a constructive restriction with respect to the configuration of the guidance mechanism and the tail end structure of the projectile, especially because of the relatively far rearwardly positioned extension axes for the control surfaces. Finally, it can also be viewed as being disadvantageous, that the retracted control surfaces are not fixed in a defined position in the barrel or launch tube nor even during the manipulation outside of a tube, which, however, would be desirable in the interest of operational and handling safety.